NEWS, JULY 11TH

Glenwood Springs–At least three major highways were closed for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon by mud slides. Highways 82, 50 and 24 were all closed by mud slides triggered by driving thunderstorms. State officials say the slides are likely to continue with more rain on the way.

Silt–Plans for another natural gas drilling project outside of Silt are in the works. The Bureau of Land Management is asking for public feedback on Bill Barrett Corporation’s plans for up to 88 new wells.

Denver–What are your feelings on the merger of the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Parks Division? The merger took place July 1st without much fanfare but officials with the new department are looking for public comments to make the agency more effective.

Denver–The U-S Forest Service is allowing contractors to cut down beetle-killed trees in Colorado. Officials say a new machine that can slice trees at the base has left thousands of acres of timber in it’s wake.

In other news…

DENVER (AP) – Tax basher Douglas Bruce is due to be arraigned
Monday in Denver on charges he evaded taxes.
But the father of Colorado’s Taxpayer Bill of Rights says he
plans to seek to have the case dismissed.
Bruce is accused of tax evasion for allegedly failing to report
money that went to a nonprofit group fighting government spending.
Prosecutors say the group he established earned some $178,000 in
interest between 2005 and 2007 but did not pay taxes on that
interest. Last month Bruce had his arraignment postponed so he could
review the evidence against him. If convicted, Bruce faces a fine
up to $500,000 or possible jail time.

CASINO TAXES
Colorado casinos get tax break
(Information in the following story is from: The Denver Post,
http://www.denverpost.com)
DENVER (AP) – Many of Colorado’s casinos are avoiding hundreds
of thousands of dollars in annual taxes through a loophole in the
state’s gaming regulations. Under Colorado law, casino operators can get up to three retailer licenses even if the casinos are housed at one location
and marketed under one name. According to the Denver Post, holding multiple licenses reduces a company’s tax burden because of the state’s graduated tax structure, which charges casinos with smaller revenues at a
significantly lower rate than bigger operations.
Last week, Gov. John Hickenlooper asked for the resignation of
three members of the state’s gaming commission, citing their
decision to give casinos another tax break.
Hickenlooper said the gaming industry is profitable and casinos
are making multimillion dollar investments.

BASEBALL BRAWL
3 parents facing charges after baseball brawl
(Information in the following story is from: KUSA-TV,
http://www.9news.com) CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (AP) – Three parents are facing charges over a fight that erupted during a baseball tournament in Castle Rock. Police say it’s hard to tell who actually started the fight that
involved about six people. According to KUSA-TV, Andrew Lee Carlson and his wife Shannon Carlson are facing charges of third degree assault and disorderly conduct, along with Castle Rock’s contracted town prosecutor,
Christy Ausmus. None of the parents involved were seriously hurt in the
incident, which occurred last month during a game for 12-year-olds.